The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow, #1)

by Alexandra St. Pierre

The funny thing about being raised in a cage is it makes you angry… and angry people want vengeance.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I spent my days touching dead bodies, but I rarely felt the desire to touch other people in any intimate way.

Murder and sex were more or less interchangeable for me. I could go without one but not the other, and since I had stopped partying so frequently, I had been finding it more difficult to come across willing assholes to sink my dick into.

I loved fucking dudes. There was just something about bending over a pretty alpha male and making him see Jesus through his asshole.

Nothing got me off faster than a good ol’ fight for dominance that ended with me literally on top.

walked into the room abruptly, and my jaw literally dropped. That picture online had not done him justice. Forget muscles. I was suddenly craving a ginger snap.

Not only was I going to be murdered at twenty-seven in my own house, I was going to die with a goddamned fear-boner.

I have to say, this was the first time someone had ever gotten hard for me while I tried to kill them, but I wasn’t complaining. Something about that was so hot. What else would make this little psycho hard?

What did a mercenary and a mortician have in common? Dead. Fucking. Bodies.

“Mmmhmm. SooOOoOoo straight, mortuary boy. Maybe tell that to your boner. It seems to have missed the memo.” “Get off!” I snarled. “I plan to.” He smirked.

“I like to hear you beg, baby. All you had to do was say please.”

It seemed I had a brat on my hands, which was literally my favorite. I loved it when they fought back. I got to punish them and teach them their place.

“I’m not the devil, Ryan Fairview. I’m your fucking god, and you will beg me for forgiveness,”

“Spit in my hand,” he ordered. I tried to shake my head, but he snarled. “That wasn’t a request, Ryan. Spit in my fucking hand, or I’ll spit in your perfect mouth.”

“That’s it, straight boy. Come for me.” “No. Fuck you!” I spat, and he chuckled. “You’re going to come, Ryan; there’s no point in fighting it. You’re going to shoot your load all over that bitch’s corpse, then you’re going to clean it up like the good boy I know you are.”

“Okay, fine. We can try to be friends.”

Constant video surveillance of my little ginger snap would have to do for now, at least until I could convince him that he was in love with me.

Because I didn’t want to be friends with Ryan Fairview. I wanted to be much more than that. I wanted his face to light up instead of darkening when he saw me. I wanted him to let me touch him whenever I wanted. I wanted to hold his hand in public and kiss him until he felt dizzy.

“Do you want to find out?” he asked, and I found myself nodding. “Yes.” “Good. Me too,”

“Or maybe… I’m hoping if I help you lock down my brother, you’ll give me your sister’s number in return.”

“Look at us! Pimping out our siblings for personal gain. We’re so charming.”

Cal didn’t drink coffee. He preferred tea with milk. No sugar. ‘Cause he was sweet enough already.

“Undo your jeans and slide them down, Ryan.”

“Let’s try that again, Ryan. Undo your pants and slide them down. If you don’t, I’ll tear them the fuck off you and take you home with your dick out. You choose.”

In the words of the infamous Ariana Grande — I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. I saw Ryan. I liked Ryan. I wanted Ryan. I got Ryan. If someone tried to take Ryan from me, I would just delete them. Murder ‘em. Wipe ‘em off the face of the fucking planet. Simple.

His rugged, sharp jaw and warm olive skin made him look like some sort of sun god that had come down to earth to bless us with his smile.

He kissed me like he owned me, and the taste of him was so potent and intoxicating that I didn’t think I would ever get enough.

“Clean it up, baby. You made a mess,”

My baby was an adorable little control freak, and I loved watching him calculate his surroundings and make decisions.

Because that’s what you fucking do. You try so hard to protect and help everyone around you, but who’s protecting you?”

be safe and close to me. I would take a thousand sleepless nights over Cal suffering a moment longer than necessary. He had been through fucking enough. All of us had.

This way, no one but me had to get hurt.

Cal was the dark angel I’d been waiting my whole life for.

“Ryan?” “Yeah?” “Thank you for saving me.”

“Of course, angel. I’ll always be here to save you.”

“You’re being pretty bossy. When I’m all healed up, I’m going to have to fuck you back into submission. You know that, right?”

“I’ll wake you up with an air horn from across the room if I have to, but I’m not letting that fucker ever touch you again. Not even in your dreams.”

I was in love with this beautiful, dark, broken angel that had forced his way into my life, and there was no going back now. The only thing I could do was try to keep him alive. And that was what I was going to fucking do.

I was Ryan’s dark angel, and I was going to bring hell to fucking earth if that’s what it took to keep us both safe from this monster.

“‘Cause Ryan said no butt whores. And you, sir, are the literal definition of a butt whore.”

“You want me to fuck this sweet little hole, baby?”

“Does that feel good, baby?” he asked, his voice rough with need. “You like having my tongue in your sweet little ass?”

“I love it when you beg, baby.”

“I love you, Callum. Now fuck me, please. Fuck me like you love me back.”

“I know what it is to make tough choices and live through difficult times. I know what hard is… Loving you isn’t hard, Callum,” he whispered, leaning forward and brushing his lips against mine. “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“If you ever get lost in the dark, I’ll make sure you find your way back, angel,”

“He doesn’t have to touch you to hurt you, Ryan,” Cal growled. He tapped his finger gently on my temple. “Did he hurt you up here? I saw the look on your face. He made you feel ashamed of yourself.”

“Tell me you’re like no one else I’ve ever met. Tell me how irreplaceable you are. How you make my whole fucking life worth living.”

“You’re everything, Ryan. You make me want to be a better man,”

His T-shirt smelled like clean laundry, and his hard, warm body felt like home.